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THE  TIMES  AND  THE  MAN 


An  Address 


BY 


s 


REV.  PRENTISS  de  VEUVE,  D.  D., 

Pastor  of  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Dayton,  Ohio. 


Delivered  at  the  Opening  of 


UNION  BIBLICAL  SEMINARY, 


September  4,  1889. 


DAYTON, OHIO: 

PRESS    OF    UNITED    BRETHREN    PUBLISHING    HOU8E. 
1889. 


€ 


THE  TIMES  AND  THE  MAN. 


The  brief  time  left  at  my  disposal,  after  the  invitation  was 
given  me  to  address  }^ou  this  morning,  precluded  any  carefully 
prepared  paper,  such  as  is  commonly  furnished  on  an  occasion 
like  this.  I  therefore  was  diffident  about  acceding  to  the  request 
of  the  Faculty,  feeling  that  I  could  not  do  justice  to  myself; 
but  I  finally  consented,  in  the  humble  hope  that  what  I  might 
furnish  would  accomplish  some  good  to  the  cause  in  which  I  am 
so  deeply  interested,  even  if  it  redounded  little  to  my  own  credit 
as  a  literary  performance. 

The  theme  I  have  selected,  "The  Times  and  the  Man,"  is  so 
thoroughly  practical,  and  so  fairly  within  the  scope  of  my  min- 
isterial experience  and  observation,  as  I  shall  treat  it,  that  I  shall 
at  least  escape  the  criticism  of  a  well-known  professor  on  young 
preachers,  namely,  that  they  would  do  so  much  better  by  simply 
"telling  people  what  they  knew  instead  of  trying  to  tell  them 
what  they  did  not  fcwow."  I  simply  propose  to  give  you  some  of 
the  experience  gained,  and  the  conclusions  reached  after  a  min- 
istry of  over  thirty  years,  that  you  may  esteem  it  for  what  it 
may  be  worth,  and  may  secure  what  profit  from  it  you  can. 

Not  many,  I  am  sure,  can  labor  for  over  a  generation  in  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel  in  this  stirring  century  without  enjoying 
experiences,  and  forming  opinions  which  may  profit  others. 
Experience  is  well  likened  by  Coleridge  to  the  "stern  light  of  a 
vessel,  casting  its  gleam  upon  the  path  which  has  been  tra- 
versed." But  as  all  of  our  paths  cross  the  same"sea  of  life,  and 
are  not  far  removed  from  each  other,  the  path  I  have  traversed 
may  help  to  guide  others. 

The  lapse  of  a  generation  finds  me  tenaciously  holding  all  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  faith  which  I  resolved  in  my  youth  to 
proclaim  to  my  fellow-men.  But  I  cannot,  after  thirty  years' 
experience,  feel  satisfied  that  a  man  should  desire  to  preach  the 
gospel  to-day  just  as  he  did  thirty  years  ago.  The  character  of 
the  age  in  which  a  preacher  ministers  ought  to  modify  the  char- 


4  THE    TIMES    AND    THE    MAN. 

acter  of  his  preaching,  and  the  modes  of  pastoral  work.  Nor  am 
I  sure  that  our  fathers  knew  everything  to  be  known  about  the 
Bible,  or  the  work  of  the  minister  among  the  people.  With  an 
ever  growing  knowledge  of  language  and  history,  of  physiology 
and  psychology,  of  archaeology  and  sociology,  why  should  there 
not  be  secured  a  larger  adaptability  to  grasp  the  full  meaning  of 
Scripture  and  to  come  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  ways  in 
which  the  gospel  can  meet  the  wants  and  satisfy  the  aspirations 
of  the  human  soul  ? 

Light  has  been  continually  "breaking  forth  from  the  word  of 
God,"  as  devout  men  have  studied  it  with  all  the  helps  of  modern 
culture;  and  without  of  necessity  abating  the  force  of  any  doc- 
trine essential  to  the  integrity  of  the  gospel,  the  message  of 
salvation  has  been  brought  home  more  intelligently  and  usefully 
to  the  hearers  of  to-day.  Times  have  indeed  changed  since  the 
audience  stood  and  listened  two  hours  at  a  stretch  to  Chrysostom 
rolling  out  his  beautiful  periods  as  he  sat  before  them  ;  and  our 
age  would  receive  no  profit  from  the  ponderous  discourses  of  the 
seventeenth  century  divines  of  England,  or  the  polished  ora- 
tions of  the  French  pulpit  in  the  times  of  Louis  the  XIV.  The 
change,  however,  does  not  condemn  our  age,  for  the  discourses  of 
to-day,  though  briefer,  less  scholastic  and  oratorical,  are  much 
more  calculated  to  do  good,  are  much  nearer  the  model  furnished 
by  the  Divine  Teacher. 

The  same  contrasts  appear  in  respect  to  pastoral  work.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  formality  of  the  pastoral  work  of  my  early  min- 
istry, when,  after  announcing  my  coming  from  the  pulpit,  I 
went  from  house  to  house  during  the  busy  hours  of  the  day 
accompanied  by  an  elder,  and  the  whole  household  was  sum- 
moned in  and  we  had  worship,  and  I  was  expected  (in  a  very 
blundering  way,  too  often  was  it  done)  to  talk  to  all  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion.  How  different  now,  when  the  pastor's  visits  are 
generally  visits  of  friendship,  in  which  he  meets  those  of  the 
family  who  may  happen  to  be  at  home,  and  must  watch  his 
opportunity  to  find  the  others,  and  when  the  happy  occasion 
offers,  press  the  matter  of  their  spiritual  welfare  upon  their 
attention.  We  have  lost  so  much,  as  some  think,  in  all  this 
change.  I  do  not  stand  here  prepared  to  controvert  that  claim, 
but  I  do  say  that,  except  in  seasons  of  general  religious  awaken- 
ing, when  the  church  or  the  community  are  deeply  stirred,  the 
old  style  of  pastoral  visitation  would  not  work  now ;  and  he  is 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    MAN.  O 

the  wise  pastor  who  accepts  the  change  in  public  sentiment  and 
labors  along  the  line  with  it,  as  he  may  do  very  effectively  if  he 
be  discreet. 

The  limit,  however,  to  which  the  preacher  may  adapt  himself 
to  the  times  is  always  the  line  of  fundamental  truth  and  minis- 
terial fidelity  as  Christ's  ambassador.  Truth  is  eternal,  and 
human  nature  has  suffered  no  molecular  change  under  the 
altered  circumstances  of  the  generations.  God  and  man  occupy 
the  same  relations  to  one  another.  The  problem  to  be  solved 
remains  precisely  the  same. 

But  let  us  proceed  now  to  consider,  as  briefly  as  may  be  pos- 
sible, the  practical  question  :  How  far  have  the  times  in  which 
we  are  living  affected  the  work  of  the  preacher  for  good  or  ill, 
making  it  easier  or  more  difficult? 

Strangely  varied  are  the  opinions  held  as  to  our  times.     With 

some,  the  times  are  evil,  and  very  evil,  and  are  growing  worse. 

With    others,    these   are   glorious   times,    full   of   promise   of  a 

magnificent  future.       For   myself,   I   can   only   say    that  I  am 

neither  pessimist  nor  optimist,  although  gladly  inclining  much 

further  towards  optimism  than  its  reverse.     These  are  glorious 

times. 

We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling 
In  a  grand  and  awful  time, 
An  age  on  ages  telling 
To  be  living  is  sublime. 

But  the  good  abounding  is  not  unmixed  with  ill.  We  are  free 
to  confess  that  there  is  a  background  of  shadow  to  the  bright- 
ness. We  are  not  free  from  grave  perils  to  church  and  state. 
An  inordinate  greed  of  gain,  and  love  of  pleasure  doubtless 
characterize  our  age,  varied  and  most  insidious  forms  of  un- 
belief as  well  as  the  coarser  blasphemies  and  unbeliefs  of  all 
ages  prevail.  Contempt  is  thrown  upon  the  Word  of  God.  His 
holy  Sabbath  is  widely  profaned,  and  everywhere  appropriated 
to  man's  care  and  enjoyment,  rather  than  to  God's  worship.  In- 
temperance is  doing  inconceivable  evil.  Debauchery  is  openly 
practiced  and  secretly  revelled  in.  Crime  develops  quite  out  of 
proportion  to  the  increase  of  the  population.  The  Press,  which 
ought  to  be  the  public  Censor  condemning  crime  and  vice,  has 
become  a  very  propagator  of  vice  and  crime  by  its  prurient 
details  of  disgusting  crime  and  hideous  vice;  by  its  vile  pictures 
inflaming  evil  desire ;  by  its  unscrupulous  use  of  its  power  for 
party  and  business  purposes,  without  regard  to  truth,  honesty,  or 


O  THE    TIMES    AND    THE    MAN. 

honor.  Gigantic  monopolies  are  shielded  and  fostered.  Politi- 
cal corruption  is  wide  spread  and  despicable,  and  conspiracies 
against  good  order  and  the  very  life  of  government  are  con- 
stantly brought  to  light.  Be  it  so,  and  we  cannot  deny  this 
impeachment  of  the  age,  but  shall  we  therefore  become  hope- 
lessly panic-stricken  and  denounce  the  age  as  hopelessly  bad  ? 

Nay !  For  where  is  the  age  which  can  show  a  record  every 
way  more  favorable  ?  When  we  fear  for  the  church  on  account 
of  the  corruption  which  abounds,  let  us  seek  relief  in  the  study 
of  other  times.  May  we  not  boldly  demand  of  the  despairing 
that  they  show  us  an  age  which  can  boast  of  any  superiority  ? 
An  age  really  purer,  more  under  the  dominion  of  love,  and  when 
the  gross  vices  alluded  to  were  any  less  prevalent  or  virulent  ? 
Ages  may  be  readily  picked  out  in  which  mankind  were  poorer, 
and  luxury  with  its  attendant  evils  were  in  consequence  con- 
fined to  the  few,  but  what  the  multitude  lacked  in  self-indulg- 
ence was  more  than  made  up  in  the  sad  total  of  sin  and  misery 
caused  by  their  ignorance  and  brutality.  A  dose  of  history,  as 
taken  from  Lecky  or  Hallam,  Home  or  Macaulay,  Thackeray's 
"Four  Georges,"  or  Dorchester's  convenient  "  Manual  of  Religious 
Progress "  ought  to  suffice  to  answer  as  a  corrective.  Vices 
abound  in  our  day,  they  frown,  nay,  they  glare  upon  us  and 
terrify  the  timid;  but  let  it  be  remembered  we  view  them  and 
treat  them  as  vices.  There  have  been  times  in  the  past  when 
duelling,  adultery,  and  fornication,  blasphemy,  and  gambling, 
and  drunkenness  were  hardly  regarded  as  vices.  Now  they  re- 
ceive the  open  approval  of  none  but  the  abandoned  classes. 

But  while  thus  correcting  the  false  conception  of  our  times  as 
relatively  so  evil,  we  should  carefully  prosecute  the  inquiry  con- 
cerning their  special  bearing  upon  the  work  of  the  minister  of 
the  gospel.  As  mach  as  a  dozen  years  ago  a  distinguished 
preacher,  still  living,*  and  greatly  honored  among  the  churches, 
started  this  very  inquiry  in  discoursing  before  a  Theological 
Seminary  in  New  England,  and  some  of  the  points  he  made  then 
have  as  much  force  to-day.  He  asserted  that  the  notion  of  "  fate 
with  all  the  consequences  which  it  brings  with  it  to  the 
ideas  of  responsibility,  and  even  to  the  fundamental  con- 
ceptions of  personal  belief,"  was  the  most  common,  and  the 
most  wonderfully  subtle  of  all  the  difficulties  lying  in  people's 
minds,  when  he  wrote,  "  With  this  notion  comes  the  inevitable 

*  Phillips  Brooks. 


THE    TIMES    AND   THE    MAN.  7 

consequences  of  hopelessness,  and  restraint  pervading  all  society 
—  different  in  different  natures;  hard  and  defiant  in  some,  soft 
and  luxurious  in  others,  but,  in  all  their  various  forms,  unfitting 
men  for  the  best  happiness,  or  the  best  growth,  or  the  best  useful- 
ness to  their  fellowmen."  Other  ages,  of  course,  have  developed 
this  trait  of  our  age,  but  it  is  now  re-asserting  itself,  with  pow- 
erful results  in  lessening  the  sense  of  personal  responsibility,  and 
easing  the  soul  in  living  a  life  of  selfishness  and  sin.  Nursed, 
nay,  pampered  in  the  lap  of  this  luxurious  age,  so  powerfully  dis- 
posed to  materialistic  unbelief  through  the  discoveries  of  modern 
science,  this  dangerous  tendency  must  be  met  by  the  preaching 
in  the  bravest  and  most  powerful  manner  of  the  pride-humbling 
and  soul-stirring  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  revealing  the  personal 
God,  and  human  responsibility  to  the  divine  law,  and  disclosing 
the  awful  adjustments  of  the  future  life.  The  conscience  must  be 
thoroughly  awakened,  in  the  belief  that  it  will  speak  boldly  and 
truly,  when  roused. 

Dr.  Brooks  discusses  two  other  points  with  equal  power. 

His  practical  analysis  of  the  tolerant  spirit  of  our  times  is 
striking.  We  may  rejoice  that  we  live  in  an  age  which,  except 
on  heathen  shores,  is  a  stranger  to  the  fires  of  persecution.  We 
may  rejoice  that  in  our  own  land  especially,  a  generous  spirit  of 
toleration  pervades  almost  all  the  churches,  bringing  them 
nearer  together  in  catholicity  of  spirit.  It  also  characterizes  the 
attitude  of  the  world  toward  the  church.  But  is  all  this 
unmixed  good  ?  The  question  should  be  cautiously  considered, 
for  the  rising  generation  of  ministers  may  find  no  greater  obsta- 
cles in  their  way  than  can  result  from  the  sacrifice  of  truth  to 
liberty.  Truth  is  many-sided,  and  those  who  see  one  side  more 
clearly  than  another  may  be  no  less  honest  and  earnest,  differing 
intelligently  and  kindly  from  those  of  different  views.  Whereas, 
a  toleration  may  exist  which  means  simple  ignorance  of  all  dis- 
tinctions, and  general  indifference  to  truth  as  truth.  Truth  is 
readily  sacrificed  to  good  feeling  —  is  not  felt  to  be  of  sufficient 
importance  to  contend  for  it  —  the  very  marrow  of  truth  has 
been  drawn  out  of  the  bones  to  feed  a  mistaken  desire  for  mere 
brotherliness  in  the  church.  I  really  fear  this  is  the  character  of 
much  of  the  toleration  of  our  times  —  it  has  been  foaled  in 
ignorance,  and  reared  in  utter  indifference  to  all  truth,  and,  of 
course,  as  an  inevitable  result,  it  has  no  fear  of  error.  The 
watchword  is :    All   the  creeds  are  good  enough !     We  are  all 


8  THE    TIMES   AND    THE    MAN. 

going  to  the  same  place!  A  man  is  not  responsible  for  his 
beliefs!  No  wonder  that  with  such  views  —  mere  morality  of 
life  goes  for  religion  —  such  tolerant  souls  can  readily  mistake 
form'  for  substance,  their  own  righteousness  for  Christ's  right- 
eousness, no  belief  for  sincere  faith,  and  the  husk  for  the  kernel. 
The  delusive  hope  deceives  but  to  destroy,  and  at  last  perishes  in 
unbelief  and  utter  worldliness.  I  fear  that  the  rising  generation 
of  preachers  will  have  more  and  more  of  this  to  contend  with  in 
our  luxurious  age,  and  they  can  meet  and  master  it  only  by  the 
most  positive  teachings  of  the  gospel  —  enforcing  the  folly  of 
trusting  in  a  religion  which  has  no  basis  of  vital  truth  formulated 
to  the  intellect,  or  living  spiritual  power  to  bring  to  bear  upon 
the  heart. 

Another  point  made  by  Dr.  Brooks  is  equally  suggestive — i.  e., 
the  tendency  to  sentimentalism  coloring  so  much  of  our 
modern  religiousness.  We  hear  much  in  these  latter  days  of  a 
"  religion  superior  to  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures."  The  twad- 
dle comes  to  us  in  various  potencies  from  the  well-meant  utter- 
ances of  some  emotional  and  shallow  believers  down  to  the 
gaseous  flashings  of  Ingersoll  and  his  rude  blasphemies,  defile- 
ments which  are  emptied  on  the  public  through  the  channel  of 
a  subservient  and  unbelieving  press.  This  sentimentalism, 
which  creates  a  God  of  love  without  justice  and  a  religion  of 
beauty  without  any  sense,  is  rampant  in  some  quarters.  It  has 
invaded  the  realm  of  music  and  poetry.  Our  fathers  may  have 
been  austere,  but  their  children  are  bent  on  being  milk-sops. 
There  is  nothing  worse  than  a  hard  theology  but  a  soft  one,  and 
that  is  what  is  now  being  taught  by  these  wise  ones.  Jesus,  in 
their  opinion,  is  always  to  be  regarded  as  the  tender,  pitiful 
Savior.  It  is  the  love  of  Christ  which  must  ever  be  put  forward ; 
it  will  always  hold  sinners  true  to  the  path  of  righteousness.  "  In 
His  name!"  The  hardest  heart  will  break  under  the  spell! 
Under  it,  the  hardest  duty  may  be  done  cheerfully  !  Such  gush 
in  prayer !  So  many  tears  !  Ah,  it  is  simply  sickening ! !  Jesus 
wept  over  Jerusalem,  but  he  cursed  it.  Jesus  died  upon  the  cross 
for  sinners,  but  he  commanded  repentance  as  well  as  faith,  and 
made  obedience  to  his  commandments  the  test  of  love.  Jesus  exe- 
crated Pharisee  and  scribe  as  heartily  as  he  welcomed  publican 
and  harlot.  It  will  be  an  easy  road  out  from  this  sentimental- 
ism to  skepticism,  and  many  will  go  to  ruin  by  it,  as  many 
have  already.     The  cure  must  be  found  in  proclaiming  the  full 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    MAN.  9 

gospel,  the  real  teaching  of  Christ.  There  is  another  characteris- 
tic of  our  age,  which  must  be  viewed  with  alarm — i.  e.,  the  in- 
crease of  socialistic  tendencies  of  all  .sorts,  and  for  the 
rising  generation  of  ministers  the  fact  is  full  of  significance, 
and  should  give  a  trend  to  their  preparation.  I  allude  not 
merely  to  the  hateful  and  bloody  forms  of  anarchism,  and  law- 
lessness, and  murder,  upon  which  the  state,  in  self-defense,  must 
lay  a  strong  and  ungloved  hand,  but  I  refer  also  to  the  growing 
contempt  for  proper  distinctions  in  society,  based  on  education 
and  culture,  and  the  determination  to  level  all  classes  down  to  a 
common  standard  of  vulgarity.  An  incident  occurring  the  other 
day,  in  our  own  city,  and  near  my  own  residence,  will  illustrate 
my  meaning  admirably :  Two  ladies  of  refined  manners  and 
appearance  were  conversing  on  the  sidewalk  by  their  homes, 
when  a  miserable  vagrant  woman,  dirty  and  forlorn,  leading  two 
children  as  offensive  as  herself,  approache  them,  saying,  "Seed 
here,  womanfolks,  do  you  know  anyone  who  wants  a  washer- 
lady  to  work?"  This  spirit  is  rife  among  the  fouler  poor,  and 
its  fainter  shadow  is  reflected  on  classes  much  above  them. 
Labor  is  coming  to  be  regarded  in  this  country  —  the  very  para- 
dise of  the  laborer  —  as  a  disgrace,  to  be  repudiated  in  name  if 
not  in  fact,  by  appropriating  the  titles  to  which  merit,  and  edu- 
cation, and  refinement,  and  ability  are  entitled  —  salesladies,  and 
it  would  be  sales-gentlemen,  but  for  the  awkwardness  of  the  term; 
artists  whose  skill  is  directed  towards  cutting  hair,  or  shoeing 
feet,  or  blacking  boots,  abound.  Yes,  everything  is  professional, 
from  gambling  to  car-driving.  This  ignoble  tendency  must  be 
corrected  in  our  Sunday-schools,  and  from  our  pulpits,  by  the 
teaching  of  true  manliness  of  soul.  We  must  preach  Christian 
manhood  and  womanhood,  and  say,  with  Burns, — 

"  What  though  on  bamely  fare  we  dine, 
Wear  hoddin  gray,  and  a'  of  tbat ; 
Gie  fools  their  silks,  and  knaves  their  wine, 
A  man's  a  man  for  a'  of  that. 

"  For  a'  of  that,  for  a'  of  that, 

Their  tinsel  show,  and  a'  of  that, 
The  honest  man,  though  e'er  sae  poor, 
Is  king  of  men,  for  a'  of  that." 

With  this  rapid  glance  at  some  of  the  peculiar  features  of  our 
"times,"  we  must  now  ask  to  what  extent  the  relation  of  the 
preacher  to  the  people  has  been  modified  bv  these  changed 
conditions.  We  must  confess  that  it  requires  no  very  careful 
investigation  to  discover  important  modifications 


10  THE    TIMES   AND   THE    MAN. 

First  of  all  the  sacerdotal  element  no  longer  enters  into  the 
estimate  of  pulpit  power.  Among  Protestants  in  this  land,  and 
in  fact,  among  some  Protestants  in  every  land,  all  power  to- 
mediate  as  priests  is  entirely  disavowed  by  the  ministry.  We 
neither  attempt  to  offer  sacrifices  nor  to  forgive  sin ;  cheerfully 
have  we  surrendered  in  the  interest  of  truth  and  righteousness 
the  veneration  with  which  superstition  once  invested  the  person 
of  the  minister,  as  well  as  his  office.  The  Protestant  minister 
expects  to  be  honored  only  for  his  Master's  sake,  and  only  so  far 
as  he  reflects  his  Master  in  his  walk  and  conversation. 

Again,  the  minister  of  to-day  holds  no  monopoly  of  educa- 
tional power  in  the  community.  The  preacher,  the  lawyer, 
and  the  doctor  are  no  longer  the  only  educated  men  of  the  com- 
munity. In  most  flocks  the  preacher  shepherds  men  and 
women  of  culture  equal,  and  even  superior  to  his  own,  ready 
to  controvert,  as  well  as  to  be  convinced. 

But  social  and  political  standing  no  longer  gives  the  power 
which  the  preacher  once  secured  from  them.  Without  a  state 
church  to  clothe  us  in  the  official  relations,  making  us  "  My 
Lord  Bishop  "  and  giving  us  great  influence  with  a  peasantry, 
our  social  and  political  influence  depends  on  our  essential  worth, 
and  our  force  of  character.  We  are  entitled  to  our  views  and 
our  votes.  The  entrance  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  upon  the 
arena  of  active  politics,  however,  always  awakens  a  prejudice 
against  him  in  his  sacred  calling.  Political  preachers  generally 
minister  to  divided  and  contending  flocks,  and  very  generally 
bring  the  church  into  disrepute. 

But  now  must  it  be  confessed  that  these  altered  conditions 
are  unfavorable  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  our  work 
as  ministers?  I  am  quite  confident  that  they  are  not.  Certainly 
no  one  will  plead  for  a  return  of  the  sacerdotal  feeling  among 
our  people.  The  blessed  Master  "came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  '  and  the  "  disciple  should  not  be  above 
his  Master,  nor  the  servant  greater  than  his  Lord."  Christianity 
arose  and  was  developed  in  entire  freedom  from  such  adventi- 
tious surroundings,  and  the  more  there  is  of  the  Master's  spirit 
among  the  ministry,  and  abroad  in  the  church,  the  less  weight 
will  be  put  upon  them.  When  ministry  and  people  began  to 
lose  Christ's  spirit,  sacerdotalism  crept  in,  and  it  rounded  out 
at  length  in  the  papal  hierarchy,  and  the  gloom  of  the  dark  ages. 

But,  is  the  change  in  the  literary  and  educational  relation  of 


THE    TIMES   AND   THE    MAN.  11 

the  ministry  to  the  church,  a  change  for  the  worse?  Certainly 
no  one  will  claim  that  it  is  so  without  he  be  ready  to  accept  the 
false  dictum  that  "ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion."  Pro- 
testant Christianity  thrives  best  on  intelligence.  The  school 
with  the  church  always.  Believing  the  Scriptures  to  be  the 
Word  of  God,  as  implicitly  as  it  believes  the  world  to  be  the 
work  of  God,  Protestant  Christianity  fears  neither  the  advance 
of  science,  nor  the  progress  of  learning  among  the  common 
people.  The  fact  that  he  preaches  to  men  and  women  of  intel- 
ligence and  culture  simply  tends  to  inspire  a  true  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ.  With  newspaper  and  printed  volume  in  every 
home,  a  constant  spur  is  furnished  to  grapple  with  his  fellow- 
men  more  firmly  in  intellectual  and  spiritual  combat.  No  time 
need  be  lost  in  mere  preliminary  work  of  instruction.  The 
foundation  truths  have  been  laid,  the  people  know  them. 

But  the  preacher  need  never  fear  that  the  press  will  supplant 
him.  Print  and  paper  can  never  supplant  the  contact  of  living 
souls.  Even  a  dry  political  campaign  cannot  be  waged  with 
documents  alone,  however  valuable  the  documents  may  be.  The 
very  impersonality  of  the  press  is  as  much  a  cause  of  weakness 
as  in  some  aspects  it  may  appear  to  be  a  source  of  strength. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  discussion  of  moral  and 
religious  questions.  It  passes  without  saying  that  too  many  of 
our  newspapers  are  not  controlled  and  edited  by  even  moral 
men,  and  yet  more  conspicuously  do  they  lack  a  religious  char- 
acter. When  a  man,  therefore,  who  is  known  to  seldom  go  to 
bed  quite  sober,  or  whose  purity  is  readily  to  be  impeached,  or 
whose  honesty  is  at  a  discount,  attempts  to  teach  morals,  or  to 
claim  the  magisterial  right  to  pronounce  opinions  on  matters  of 
spiritual  import,  his  influence  is  not  very  telling.  When  one 
would  become  a  religious  instructor,  he  must  command  respect 
for  his  character,  or  his  labors  will  prove  vain.  It  is  the  con- 
taminating influence  which  politics  always  presupposes  in  the 
minds  of  thoughtful  men  that  detracts  from  the  influence  of  a 
political  minister.  He  seems  to  them  to  have  forsaken  the  pure 
and  holy  Jesus  to  become  like  other  men,  and  this  feeling  will 
weaken  the  appreciation  of  the  man's  true  worth. 

But  what  are  the  qualifications  of  the  man  who  shall 
more  or  less  successfully  meet  the  requirements  of  these 
times  ?  The  qualifications  of  a  true  minister  demanded  in  these 
times  are  numerous  and  vital ;    but  time  would  fail  for  me  to- 


12  THE    TIMES    AND    THE    MAN. 

enlarge  upon  them  all.  What  you  desire  from  me,  I  feel  sure,  is 
simply  the  suggestion  of  the  qualifications  which  appear  to  me 
most  important.  It  goes  without  the  saying  that  he  must  be  an 
earnest  Christian  within  the  most  positive  views  of  religious  truth, 
and  a  real,  if  not  a  lively,  religious  experience.  Intense  loyalty 
to  Jesus  Christ  must  characterize  his  piety — "he  serves  the  Lord 
Christ."  Without  these  qualifications  no  minister  can  fairly  meet 
the  wants  of  our  times.  The  day  has  passed  when  unconverted 
men  could  boldly  enter  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  without  pro- 
test from  the  people.  Personal  character  is  now  regarded  as  the 
most  significant  of  all  qualifications,  and  the  preacher  must  not 
merely  enjoy  the  reputation  for  unblemished  morality,  but  also 
for  real  spirituality.  The  people  may  be  deceived  as  to  the  last, 
but  tbey  must  be  deceived,  for  willingly,  knowingly  they  will  not 
endure  a  hypocrite  or  ungodly  man  in  the  sacred  office. 

To  say  that  the  minister  for  the  times  cannot  be  an  unedu- 
cated man  is  a  fact  confessed  by  all  branches  of  the  Christian 
church  in  these  days.  The  class  of  preachers  who  boasted  of 
their  ignorance  has  become,  like  the  Dodo,  an  extinct  species. 
True,  a  plenty  of  ignorant  ones  are  left,  but  now  they  try  to 
conceal  the  fact  that  they  know  so  little.  The  pious  craze  which 
struck  some  educated  men  a  few  years  since  and  led  them  to  dis- 
regard the  carefully  prepared  sermon  and  trust  to  the  immediate 
inspiration  of  the  Spirit  has,  I  believe,  largely  died  out.  The 
scriptural  foundation  for  it  was  slender.  Balaam's  ass  was  the 
only  striking  case  given  in  scripture.  A  man  may  in  truth 
educate  himself  outside  of  the  schools,  but  all  the  better  and 
easier  in  the  schools.  Thank  God  for  all  the  advantages  you 
have  in  this  well-equipped  school  of  the  prophets,  and  faithfully 
improve  all  your  opportunities  of  every  sort  provided  by  these 
admirable  professors  and  this  excellent  curriculum.  The  ten- 
dency of  our  age  in  theological  culture  is  rather  toward  biblical 
than  systematic  theology,  but  both  are  required  for  the  proper 
balance.  Avail  yourselves  of  every  chance  for  becoming  versed 
in  natural  science,  not,  let  me  say,  that  you  may  make  fools  of 
yourselves  by  fighting  the  scientists,  but  that  you  may  not  be 
disturbed  by  their  inconsequent  conjectures  and  reasonings,  and 
also  that  you  may  secure  the  happiest  and  widest  ability  for 
illustrating  the  truths  you  teach.  I  have  often  grieved  over  my 
own  indifferent  training  in  the  sciences  and  have  coveted  the 
privileges  of  training  now  to  be  enjoyed  by  students. 


THE    TIMES    AND   THE    MAN.  1& 

A  very  important  branch  of  investigation  which  should  be 
pursued  by  our  rising  ministry  is  sociology.  Around  that  sub- 
ject gather  the  burning  questions  of  the  times,  and  we  must  not 
as  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  fail  to  understand  them,  and 
endeavor  to  solve  them  on  gospel  principles. 

Poetry  offers  an  important  field  for  your  thought  and  examina- 
tion. Unbelief  is  now  working  this  mine  for  all  it  is  worth, 
and  doing  vast  harm.  The  unbelief  and  pessimism  of  Matthew 
Arnold  breathed  out  in  his  exquisite  verses  will  live,  and  curse, 
long  after  Ingersoll  and  his  silly  trash  and  his  frantic  ravings 
have  been  utterly  forgotten— and  even  Arnold's  prose  writing 
has  cease  to  be  read,  just  as  the  songs  of  Watts  and  Wesley, 
Cow  per  and  Palmer,  will  bless  the  world  from  age  to  age. 

Every  age  has  required  the  full-orbed  gospel,  but  each  particu- 
lar age  has  specially  demanded  some  particular  phase  of  gospel 
truth.  At  the  Reformation  it  was  salvation  by  faith  alone.  In 
the  eighteenth  century  it  was  a  living  gospel  as  opposed  to  dead 
orthodoxy  and  stony  rationalism,  and  their  soul-destroying  influ- 
ences. For  our  age,  and  more  and  more  clearly  is  the  fact  being 
revealed,  the  imperative  demand  is  for  ethical  preaching.  The 
age  is  developing  a  class  of  gospel  hearers  and  weak  Christians, 
with  consciences  responsive  to  the  demands  of  the  gospel  for  faith 
in  Christ  and  the  extension  of  the  church,  but  strangely  unre- 
sponsive to  the  claims  of  the  Divine  law  upon  their  daily  lives — 
self-indulgent  ones,  anxious  to  get  all  they  can  out  of  this  world, 
and  yet  to  hold  on  to  their  hopes  for  the  future  life.  Covetous- 
ness  is  a  widespread  sin  among  this  class.  They  make  haste  to 
become  rich,  and  do  not  disturb  themselves  much  over  the  way  in 
which  to  secure  their  wealth.  The  land  is  filled  with  gamblers 
—  gamblers  in  stocks,  in  lands,  in  the  very  necessaries  of  life, 
and  the  transactions  are  of  frightful  magnitude.  The  most 
unscrupulous  means  are  resorted  to  to  acquire  wealth  suddenly, 
without  labor,  and  in  great  magnitude.  The  consciences  of  men 
seem  to  be  utterly  seared ;  they  have  no  regard  to  God's  honor, 
or  the  rights  of  man.  Trusts  are  multiplying,  not  merely  to 
protect  legitimate  business,  but  to  ruin  the  prospects  of  all  but 
the  few  and  to  "grind  the  faces  of  the  poor."  Our  congregations 
contain  not  a  few  who  worship  God  on  Sunday  and  bite  and 
devour  their  fellow-men  all  the  week ;  who  help  to  support 
churches  out  of  gains  made  at  the  expense  of  truth,  and  justice, 
and   mercy  —  the   public   conscience   and   the   Loid's  day.     To- 


14  THE    TIMES   AND   THE    MAN. 

meet  this  most  unhealthy  condition  of  affairs  God's  ministers 
must  bring  God's  law  to  bear  heavily  on  men's  consciences. 
They  must  preach  searchingly,  but  kindly.  They  must  heroicly 
favor  every  brave  movement  made  in  support  of  morals  and 
reform,  and  they  must  use  wisdom  in  discriminating  between 
measures  that  are  wise  and  that  are  unwise,  however  well  inten- 
tioned.  The  cause  of  sound  morals  has  suffered  bitterly  from 
the  foolish  radicalism  of  its  friends,  as  well  as  from  the  antago- 
nism of  its  foes.  Wisely  and  boldly  to  discuss  and  support  the 
cause  of  temperance,  and  social  purity,  and  public  honesty, 
and  brotherly  kindness,  will  require  all  our  natural  gifts  and 
gracious  bestowments.  And  to  know  how  far  to  go,  and  when 
to  be  content  taxes  the  courage  and  the  wisdom  often  the  most 
severely. 

A  strong  degreee  of  self-reliance  seems  to  be  more  necessary  to 
God's  ministers  now  than  ever  before.  In  many  respects  the 
minister  must  now  stand  more  alone  and  unsupported  than 
ever  before.  Those  who  share  with  the  minister  the  control  of 
the  flock  are  in  very  important  respects,  especially  in  our  cities, 
less  able  to  help  him  spiritually  now  than  previously.  Too 
many  of  our  church  officers  are  thoroughly  worldly  in  their 
views,  and  the  more  prosperous  they  become  the  more  worldly, 
as  a  general  thing,  are  they  likely  to  be.  You  see  it  in  their  in- 
tense devotion  to  business  and  their  unwillingness  to  do  spir- 
itual work.  Too  often  in  our  cities  they  mix  largely  with  the 
world.  You  find  them  at  the  theatre  and  in  the  fashionable 
world.  Their  children  are  taught  to  dance  as  faithfully  as  to 
pray,  and  are  practically  made  to  understand  that  their  wordly 
success  is  that  which  the  parent  has  chiefly  in  sight.  Such  laxity, 
of  course,  unfits  church  officers  for  hand-to-hand  work  with  un- 
converted souls.  They  are  admirable  on  dress  parade,  but  poor 
dependences  in  the  strife  with  the  world  and  sin. 

To  a  young  man  of  scholarly  tastes,  who  dreams  that  when 
once  in  the  ministry  he  will  have  such  delight  in  pursuing  his 
studies  and  composing  his  sermons,  this  fact,  that  he  cannot  de- 
pend on  the  church  officers  to  do  the  spiritual  work  with  him, 
much  less  for  him,  and,  therefore,  that  he  must  expect  to  do 
it  largely  by  himself,  is  a  fact  which  should  be  carefully  pon- 
dered while  pursuing  his  studies.  Aim  to  secure  as  largely  as 
possible  the  ability  for  and  the  love  of  pastoral  work.  Make 
yourselves  useful  in  the  churches  of  your  denomination  here. 


THE   TIMES    AND    THE    MAN.  15 

Offer  your  services  as  a  learner  for  all  sorts  of  pastoral  work 
within  your  sphere.  Especially  seek  direct  intercourse  with  the 
unconverted,  reasoning,  pleading,  praying  with  them.  The  help 
which  will  thus  be  obtained  for  future  labor  will  be  very  valua- 
ble. Not  having  to  learn  how  to  deal  with  men  and  women  and 
children  as  a  pastor  after  entering  on  the  pastoral  work,  you  will 
economize  a  large  amount  of  time  for  the  study,  and  the  pulpit, 
from  the  outset  of  your  ministry. 

I  must  specially  impress  upon  you  my  profound  conviction 
that  the  burning  questions  of  the  hour  in  sociology  will  be  more 
successfully  solved  by  a  ministry  of  pastors  leading  their  con- 
gregations with  them  in  ministrations  of  practical  Christianity 
among  the  masses  than  by  the  eloquence  of  the  preacher  or  the 
enactments  of  the  state.  What  is  needed  among  the  different 
classes  is  sympathy  practically  shown  by  individual  labor.  The 
exacting  demands  of  the  pulpit  in  our  cultivated  congregations 
make  this  sort  of  pastoral  labor  almost  impossible,  except  the 
occupant  of  the  pulpit  be  a  man  of  unusual  ability,  and  thor- 
ough mental  training.  A  careful  attention  to  stud}r,  and  espe- 
cially the  most  thorough  training  of  the  mind  for  the  exercise  of  its 
powers,  is  the  wise  preparation  for  the  future  which  will  insure 
more  time  for  pastoral  work.  The  pulpit  must  always  be  the 
minister's  throne,  but  a  preacher  who  is  no  pastor  lacks  vital 
elements  of  success.  How  hard  it  is  to  reach  success  as  preacher 
and  a  pastor,  there  are  very  many  ready  to  testify.  The  people 
expect  so  much  more  than  we  can  possibly  give  them ;  and  yet 
they  realize  so  little  how  much  they  do  expect,  else  they  would 
more  cheerfully  lend  a  helping  hand. 

In  the  discharge  of  duty  both  as  a  preacher  and  pastor  a 
prime  qualification  is  manliness.  Do  not  fear  the  face  of  anjrone 
in  the  congregation  when  you  are  speaking  for  your  Master,  but 
always  "try  to  speak  the  truth  in  love."  First,  last,  all  the  time 
satisfy  your  own  conscience  and  leave  results  with  God.  Covet 
a  contented  mind,  free  from  [even  the  "mildly  complaining 
spirit,"  as  one  gently  terms  it.  Have  you  trials  ?  You  have 
great  blessings.  Must  you  be  poor  in  this  world's  goods?  You 
can  be  rich  toward  God.  Cultivate  from  the  outset  the  good 
habit  of  giving  to  the  causes  of  benevolence.  Remember  the 
poor,  but  do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  imposed  on.  Do  not,  as  I 
have  heard  of  ministers  doing,  hire  a  carriage  to  go  and  marry, 
or  bury  anyone,  but  let  those  who  want  you  send  for  you.    Some 


16  THE    TIMES    AND   THE    MAN. 

minister  is  always  near  at  hand.  They  know  that  you  can't 
afford  such  an  expense,  but  they  will  say  nothing  of  it  if  you 
are  simple  enough  to  be  imposed  upon.  A  want  of  conscience, 
and  a  lazy  desire  to  save  trouble,  are  common  infirmities  of 
human  nature. 

My  young  brethren,  I  covet  you  the  privilege  of  entering  upon 
your  work  in  this  age  of  the  world.  It  has  always  been  a 
glorious  privilege  to  live  and  to  labor  for  Christ ;  it  never  was 
more  glorious  than  now.  Grasp  the  full  significance  of  the  age, 
and  rise  to  your  responsibilities  and  privileges.  With  the  eye  of 
faith  discern  the  triumphs  in  which  you  will  share.  Mount  on 
the  wings  of  prayer  into  closer  fellowship  with  the  Master.  Let 
God  and  not  man  be  the  centre  of  your  preaching,  your  life,  and 
of  all  your  labor.  Fear  no  difficulties,  for  with  you  is  not  "an 
arm  of  flesh."  Sink  under  no  sorrows  or  trials,  for  afflictions  are 
but  chastisements  for  your  profit,  and  trials  are  but  the  putting 
you  to  proof  that  you  may  know  better  where  your  strength  lies. 
Model  your  lives  after  Jesus  —  after  no  man,  however  great  — 
the  only  model  for  all  ages,  places,  and  conditions,  is  Jesus,  "  the 
author  and  finisher  of  our  faith." 

And  now,  with  one  more  word  of  congratulation  that  you 
have  been  led  to  take  up  the  holy  calling  of  the  ministry,  let  me 
close.  Your  heart  being  in  it  you  will  never  regret  it.  I  was 
privileged  some  years  ago  to  ascend  the  great  Pyramid  of 
Gihzeh,  and  the  view  from  its  summit  I  shall  never  forget.  I 
looked  down  over  the  great  desert  wastes  on  one  side,  and  over 
beyond  the  hills  I  knew  it  was  desert  also,  bleak  and  drear ;  but 
below  me  was  a  strip  of  living  green  —  more  lovely  and  striking 
for  the  barren  surroundings;  it  was  the  land  of  Egypt,  rendered 
thus  beautiful  by  the  beneficent  river  Nile,  whose  waters  are 
diverted  by  human  skill  to  bless  the  land.  My  young  brethren, 
just  such  a  stream  of  mercy  flows  through  this  sorrowful  world, 
made  sorrowful  by  man's  sin.  It  is  the  river  of  Salvation,  and 
your  life  work  will  be  to  lead  off  the  rills  in  one  direction  and 
another  into  the  deserts  of  human  woe,  that  they  may  become 
the  garden  of  the  Lord.  Can  you  or  I  ask  for  a  nobler  or  more 
soul-satisfying  labor  ?  Ought  we  not  to  be  very  thankful  that 
the  Master  has  called  us  into  the  work  ? 


BX9878.9  .D49 

The  times  and  the  man  :  an  address 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00047  3621 


